The MAN Named Jesus!

John 11:30-36 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in that place where Martha met him. (31) The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. (32) Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. (33) When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, (34) And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. (35) Jesus wept. (36) Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!

There is much talk about Jesus as the Messiah, Jesus as God and Jesus as our Savior, but there is not nearly as much discussion of Jesus as a mere man. In our text today, we see one of the most powerful evidences that Jesus truly was a human with all of our emotions and feelings.

In verse 5 we find that Jesus loved Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Even though Jesus was dedicated to saving the lost and teaching the masses about repentance and turning towards God, we find that he had time to develop close friends that he truly loved. This kind of friendship was not just a casual acquaintance, but rather a deep mutual relationship. So much so that when Lazarus got sick they called for Jesus to come and be with them.

But the most powerful evidence of his humanity is found in verse 35, the shortest verse in the Bible. Jesus wept. This verse is quite intriguing, largely because of why that he wept. I do not think that he wept as a result of the death of Lazarus because he came to the funeral in order to raise him from the dead.

So if Jesus didn’t weep because of the death of Lazarus, why did he weep?

John 11:33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled

I believe Jesus wept because he had sympathy and compassion for Mary and Martha. They were clearly distraught because of the loss of their brother and Jesus was moved by their pain. Jesus was not so much God that he could not feel the suffering of others. That is what makes our savior so special, he truly knows what it is like to be us.

Hebrews 4:15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.

Jesus could have come to this earth and lived as the greatest king in the history of the world, but instead he was a common man that experienced life just as we do. He had sadness and heartaches and disappointments and frustrations the same as us. And when we approach him on Judgment day, our judge will have this same kind of compassion and understanding for us.